Good Guy with a Gun

Two filmmakers explore one of the most controversial issues in education today: the arming of teachers.

Sandy Hook Elementary school was the site of a brutal shooting that claimed the lives of twenty children and six adults. Whereas before the shooting, few would have imagined putting guns in teachers’ hands, the tragedy triggered feelings of vulnerability and unpreparedness that were met with calls to arm school workers. Ten or more states have by now moved to enable or require school employees to carry firearms.

The two filmmakers behind Insight Productions, Julie Akeret and Kate Way, received Mass Humanities funding to develop the trailer and written treatment for their documentary about the security measures following the Sandy Hook shooting. It is the first feature-length film to cover the subject. They spoke with teachers and other educators, law enforcement officials, school administrators, activists, parents, and students. The result is Good Guy with a Gun: The Arming of Teachers in America, the trailer for which can be seen above.

Insight Productions was awarded a $10,000 Media Project Grant for Development of a trailer and a written treatment for a documentary about the security measure in American public schools of arming teachers. [Project Director: Kate Way; Date Awarded: 12/20/2014]